It's Okay, That's Love
by Wednesday Wildheart
Summary: AU. Student athletes Mikan Sakura and Natsume Hyuuga who had been besties since birth gets their friendship tested on their sophomore year in Alice University when an ex returns and one falls in love with the other. 02: "What can I say? I'm the lucky one."
1. The Drummer and the Swimmer

Author's Note: Yes, this is an overly used plot about two best friends falling in love with each other. However, I couldn't get this story out of my mind for weeks now. Hence, I am indulging myself with this trying-to-be-humorous story with slightly and/or overly done OOCs and all its fluff. Hope you appreciate it as much as I do!

* * *

It was the loud beating of the drums that started it all. Each hit on the white exterior echoed the beating of her heart. It was exhilarating and it made Mikan Sakura feel alive.

She was seventeen when she first witnessed Alice University's drumline team. She had been walking with her friends during the freshmen welcoming week when the first strike on the bass drum effectively silenced everyone. That lone calling beat demanded attention and it sure got a hundred percent of Mikan's. The succeeding beats and watching the team with their game faces on made her heart skip a beat.

It was then that she knew she found home and a place she wanted to belong to while she was in University.

"Strike it harder!" Tonouchi, their team captain, shouted as he walked the length that the playing members occupied in the empty football field. "Those who aren't playing, observe them carefully. You're not here to just stand around!"

Her mind filled with determination, Mikan drew her body closer to the bass drum. She held the rim tighter with her left hand, lifted her right arm and in a swift move, brought it back down against the drum's surface. The sound it created was comparably louder than the previous ones she made. Keeping the tempo and power up, she continued beating her bass drum.

"Mikan, you're off-beat!" Tonouchi shouted in front of her. She nodded both in apology and understanding.

Amidst the noise, Mikan closed her eyes, and trained her ears towards the steady tempo of her other teammates. She gripped her percussion mallet tighter, ignoring the searing pain on her fingers. Her sweat trickled down from her forehead and trembled along her jaw like raindrops falling on the edge of the roof. For today's training, they were tasked to play the beats of a lengthy Alice U chant on repeat for fifteen minutes in order to build their stamina.

Their captain signaled that they only have one last round left, hence, she poured every remaining bit of energy left in her body into that last cycle. Their fifteen minutes were up.

Mikan watched her hands tremble slightly as well as the fresh wounds that formed there after the exhausting activity. She didn't notice her teammate and senior, Tsubasa Andou, approach her. "Hey, you okay?"

"Hey, senpai. Yes, of course," she grinned at him. "Unstoppable is my second name."

Beside Mikan was Koko whose arms were propped against his knees to support his weight. He said breathlessly, "That freakin' round killed me."

Tsubasa laughed and patted both their backs. "You guys have only been here for one season. You'll get used to it."

"Gather around," came the command of their coach, Shiki, to which they all replied a monotonous _Yes, Coach!_

"Your performance today was good enough but that's not the standard we're aiming for. Our goal is to play at the championships this season so you have to be better than best," he said. He turned to Tonouchi and asked, "Tono, is there anything else you need to tell them?"

"Yes, Coach," he turned to his constituents. "The League is drawing closer and all the teams in Alice U are training hard to get the back-to-back overall champion title. As your captain, I expect everyone to do the same and to work twice as hard. Clear?"

"Yes, Captain!"

"Alright, you're dismissed," he said before turning towards the freshmen members to tell them to bring the team's equipment back to the storage room.

In the locker room, Mikan looked at her hands both in pain and disgust. The skin of her fingers were torn due to friction and the force she applied in training earlier although it was nothing new. Shaking her head, she continued changing her clothes, careful not to let the fabric rub her wounded hands. Afterwards, she got her phone out of her gym bag and saw a message from Natsume.

. . .

 _iMessage 6:09 PM_

 _Natsume:_

 _I'll drive you home. Don't forget._

 _iMessage 8:58 PM_

 _Mikan:_

 _Yes, I need to have my fingers treated first. Meet you at the quad? :-)_

 _. . ._

* * *

Everyone had always said that Natsume Hyuuga will grow up to become an excellent swimmer, the Michael Phelps of his generation. It had been said so often that he had come to expect it of himself. No more, no less.

He learned swimming before he even began to walk. He started swimming competitively at the tender age of six in the Kyoto Pool & Tennis Club where he also earned his first championship medal under the children's division. When he was thirteen years old, he earned the nation's attention and admiration when he won five consecutive titles in the Japan Junior Swimming meets. It was the beginning of stardom and brand sponsorships which also meant being constantly under the scrutinizing gaze of sports analysts and swimming fanatics as well as the expectations of his fanbase.

That's why he was restless. And annoyed. And frustrated.

He had been on a slump ever since he started his collegiate swimming career. The problem began when he lost in a pre-season meet against his all-time rival, Kuonji, which he disdainfully calls, _Kuondick_. His succeeding matches bore the same results and the next thing he knew, his ranking suffered a significant drop. He lost several sponsorship deals and gained more online hate. But the trouble didn't end there. Three weeks before the season opening of the Collegiate Athletic League of Tokyo, or simply The League, for swimming, he sustained a shoulder injury which made him spend his rookie year by the benches instead of the pool. It didn't sit well with him but it's not like there was something he could do with the situation.

Upon reaching the end of the swimming pool, he kicked the wall in order to propel himself back to the direction where he came from. Muscular arms emerged from the water in an alternating manner. One arm pushed water backwards underwater while the other recovered forward above water in controlled movement. Simultaneously, his legs executed flutter kicks which left ripples of water in its wake.

Reaching the edge of the pool, he removed his goggles then his swimming cap. His coach, Rei Serio, said, "Your time record's 50.58. Good job, Natsume."

"Thanks, coach."

"I already sent your name for the Tokyo Pool Club's meet tomorrow. It's nothing big but it'd be a nice practice game for you."

Beside his lane, Ruka, Natsume's closest friend gave him a high-five and said, "Nice one, bro."

"Thanks, man."

Persona turned to the other members of the swimming team. "As for the others, you showed improvement compared to last season's performance. But don't get too cocky. I was once a student athlete like you and I'm telling you that the only way is up for this team. When you put in the work, you become stronger. The harder it gets, the harder—"

Behind Rei, a petite girl with wavy hair tied in a messy ponytail coughed to interrupt the swimming coach's emotional tirade. Nobara swiftly said, "Alright, what the coach wanted to say was continue to train harder. That's all. You're dismissed."

"Aye, aye, Coach!" shouted Kitsuneme.

Once in the warmth of their locker room, the boys entered their separate shower stalls and began to talk about their coach. The sound of the warm water falling from the shower and its accompanying steam filled the room. Mochu complained, "Have nothing against coach but he's chatty these days and it's freaking me out."

"Really? What was he like before?" Youichi, their rookie, asked.

"My man," Hayate, a brown-haired swimming team member began. "You wouldn't believe this but I'ma tell you anyway—"

"He was really moody and kept to himself most of the time," Kitsuneme explained.

"Thanks for interrup—" Hayate complained sarcastically.

"He had this mysterious aura going on," Ruka added.

"Hey—" Hayate tried again.

"He doesn't do motivational speeches either," Natsume said.

"Why the change then?" Youichi asked.

Thinking that his fellow teammates didn't have an answer to the rookie's question, he began quite proudly, "Rumor says that—"

"They say he fell in love, hence, the change of heart," Ruka said.

"I'm talking here—" Hayate said but then was cut off again.

"Heard that they also had a baby," Natsume said.

"Apparently, if it were true, a baby changes everything," Kitsuneme said.

"Stop—" Hayate said.

"But those were just rumors though. It's not like he'd actually share his personal life to us," Ruka said.

"And it's not like we'd actually want to know," Natsume said.

Assuming that the conversation which his teammates left him out of was finally finished, he said while feigning seriousness, "He also _only_ wore black."

"Oh, yeah," Mochu affirmed.

Satisfied that he finally got everyone's attention, he continued, "These days, the only black he's wearing are trunks."

"But our trunks _are_ black," Kitsuneme said.

"Hayate the dummy," Youichi said.

"Why, you—" Hayate began to retort but got cut off once again.

"Thinking about him gives me goosebumps," Mochu said and after a pause, he added. "Even down there."

At that, the boys groaned in disgust. Ruka said, "Mochiage, you're sick."

Having gone out of his shower stall a lot faster than the other boys, Natsume had already dressed himself in a clean white shirt, black gym shorts, and sliders. He rolled his eyes at Mochu's comment. Lifting his gym bag and placing the strap on his shoulder, he said, "See you guys tomorrow. Gotta go."

"Girlfriend waiting for you?" Kitsuneme teasingly asked.

Opening the most recent message on his phone, he nonchalantly said, "She's not my girlfriend."

. . .

 _iMessage 9:17 PM_

 _Natsume:_

 _Alright. On my way._

 _. . ._

* * *

"Ah, my regular is here. Of what may I be of service?"

Mikan sheepishly smiled before lifting her slightly bloody fingers to show it to Narumi, the nurse assigned to student athletes. "The usual."

"Make yourself comfortable. I'll just get the gauze and antiseptic."

When Narumi got back, he took a cotton ball and dipped it in hydrogen peroxide then applied it on Mikan's wounds. He asked, "Was training that intense today?"

Mikan nodded. "Yeah."

"But you do love what you're doing, right?"

"Yes, absolutely."

"Then you can endure it. You can do it as long as you put your heart and mind to it."

"That's funny," Mikan said in wonder. "My parents tell me the same thing!"

"Really? Must be a coincidence," Without looking at Mikan, he asked, "What do your parents say about your blisters each time you go home then?"

"Oh, they've been nothing but super supportive since I joined my team."

He gently smiled at her. "That's good to know. There, we're done."

Mikan's phone which was on her lap vibrated and she saw the text notification from Natsume. Narumi asked, "Boyfriend?"

"Nah, best friend," Mikan smiled at him, thanked him, then went out to go to the quad. She failed to hear the nurse's next probing question which was, _You sure?_

* * *

Koko had been quietly observing passersby when his teammate, course-mate, and close friend approached him. When he noticed Mikan's bandaged fingers, he looked at his own hands and at the hardened skin.

He jokingly asked her, "Remind me again why we joined this torture?"

"Me, I've always loved the sound of the bass and you . . . you're in love with Permy and wanted to get her attention."

"Yeah?"

Upon noticing her cheerleader friends, Mikan moved closer to Koko to whisper in a singsong voice, "And here she is."

Koko often thought that God must have taken a lot of time creating Sumire because in his eyes, she was just perfect. Once, Mikan asked him why he liked her so much and he answered that it was because she's strong, independent, and a woman. As he watched her walk towards where he was, he can hear The Archies' _Sugar, Sugar_ playing. Until he heard her accusingly say, "What are you looking at?"

Always with a smile on, he truthfully said, "You."

Sumire became red in the face and at a loss of words, only managed to narrow her eyes at him. Her vice cheer captain and friend, Nonoko said, "Don't be too harsh on him, Permy."

"Isn't he sweet?" Anna, also a friend of theirs and a cheerleader, gushed.

"Then date him."

"No can do! I already have Mochu."

The cheerleading team's student manager, Hotaru, said, "If you girls won't mind, I'll be taking my leave."

Mikan clung to her and babyishly complained, "Already? But I missed you."

"I don't miss you."

"But Hotaru," she pouted.

"Not working," she turned to the other girls . . . and Koko. "I need to review for my Accounting quiz tomorrow."

"Can Anna and I carpool with you?"

"Yes, of course," she answered before turning to the cheer captain who was being annoyed by the drummer. "And Shouda?"

"I'll drive her home," Koko answered on her behalf, his hand already taking Permy's gym bag.

"No, you can't. We still need to discuss the game assignments!" Sumire reasoned out.

"Nonoko and I can do it since we'll be riding with Hotaru!" Anna answered.

"Besides, you deserve some lovin' because of all your hard work these past few weeks," Nonoko said then winked at the green-haired beauty.

"Ooh, guess who's gonna get some lovin' next?" Koko mirthfully asked while looking at someone jogging towards them.

Mikan elbowed him on the backside, "Shut it, Koko."

"Here comes Mikan's boyfriend," Koko teased. "I guess that's our cue to leave."

"He's not my boyfriend," Mikan said, slightly horrified that her friends were indeed already starting to leave. "Wait, don't leave me!"

"Oh, shut it, Mikan," Hotaru said. "You're no damsel in distress."

It was ridiculous how almost everyone thought that she and Natsume were dating based solely on the premise that they're always seen together—going to school, lunchtime, before and after their respective training schedules, going home, and whatnot. If Mikan was to pinpoint how it all began, it would've been during their first week in Alice U. It was that time when invitation for acquaintance parties were handed left and right—by school organizations and individual students themselves.

Their high school batch-mate, Wakako, hosted one of those parties and heck, she did know how to plan a party everyone would rave about in the days to come. She hired a DJ, installed party lights, moved the furniture towards the walls so there'd be plenty of space for dancing, and her brother who was a bartender mixed their drinks so well he deserved to be praised. To put the long story short, they both got heavily drunk that night and they ended up sleeping in one of the couches. One partygoer maliciously took a picture of them while they were asleep and seated dangerously close—Natsume's arms were wrapped around Mikan's shoulders while she was half-seated on his lap, her head tucked underneath his chin and her own arms wrapped around his neck.

Come Monday, they were both surprised to know that they became the main subject of the rumor mill. Said photo wouldn't have been talked about if it weren't for Natsume being one of the most promising rookies that year. For the next three weeks, the two best friends decided to delete all their social media applications because of all the online hate they received, especially Mikan who got slut-shamed for, guess what, having fun.

At first, they both tried to actively deny the rumors and the questions thrown their way from Natsume's fanbase and Mikan's friends until they both realized that strangely, denial only makes the people think that they are indeed together. Over time, gossipmongers moved on to other topics. Except their friends, teammates, and schoolmates who often see them together. Both of them laughed at the silliness of it all.

Seriously, can't a guy and a girl just be friends?

"Where'd they go?" Natsume asked when he reached her.

"They, uhm, had to do something."

"You're lying."

"What? It's the truth."

"Yes, and the truth is you're lying."

"I'm not."

"You are."

"I'm not."

"Your nose crinkles when you lie."

They started walking towards the school parking lot. She slapped him on the back before grumbling, "I hate that you know me like the back of your hand. It's annoying."

"Blame our moms."

"Yeah, you're right. When I think about it—"

"That's new."

"—we're basically forced to be friends and grow up with each other since we were babies."

"Which is highly favorable on your part because you're best friends with _,_ as my fans would say it and the thousands of fan fiction written about me, _the_ Natsume Hyuuga," he said proudly.

"You read fan fiction?"

"More like, skimmed through it. Mochu made me check some out before training. Never doing it again though."

"Why?"

"Some were really," he grimaced at the memory. " . . . disturbing."

She laughed heartily. When she wiped her happy tears, Natsume noticed her bandaged fingers, "How was your training?"

"Tough, as usual. But I'm getting used to it."

"I told you to use athletic tape, remember?"

"I don't have the time to go to the mall, remember?" she mimicked his reprimanding voice that he used with her. "I need to work on my academics harder than you have to. I inherited my mom's brain, you know that."

"Fine. I'll buy one for you tomorrow after my game—"

"Your game?" She stopped walking and waited for his answer.

"Yes, my game," he softly affirmed with pride.

She witnessed how devastated Natsume was when he had to miss his supposed first season in The League due to his injury. She also witnessed how hard he worked so he won't get left behind in terms of progress by his other teammates. Hence, to hear that Natsume would finally represent Alice U for the first time, even if it's not as recognized as The League, almost made her cry. But she never cries, not in front of her best friend at least. Instead, she ran towards him and jumped on his back.

Natsume was taken aback at first but flexibly held her legs securely. He smiled at her strange way of showing him how proud she is of him. He felt her head near his ears as she asked, "Where?"

"If I tell you, will you watch?"

"Duh," she playfully rolled her eyes. "I've been supporting you since day one."

"Alright, Tokyo Pool Club. 1 PM, you free?"

"Ah, shit. I have Economics with Jinno that time. I'd miss his class but we're not exactly on friendly terms."

"It's fine, I understand."

"I'm really sorry. But know what, I'll make sure to be there in _all_ your games once The League starts. Heck, I'll even beg my team captain to assign me to _all_ your games."

"Promise?" He held out his pinky finger.

"Promise," Mikan said as she carefully intertwined her bandaged pinky finger with Natsume's. Then she playfully added, "The moon's our witness."

As if in agreement to what the drummer said, the moon was indeed shining brightly against the infinite darkness that was the nighttime sky.


	2. Who You Love

Author's Note: For the first and last time (for this story), I don't own Gakuen Alice as well as the songs that will be mentioned here from time to time. Unless otherwise stated. Also, FFN already has an app! :-)

* * *

There were four things Natsume Hyuuga wanted to ask his ex-girlfriend on the day she broke up with him last year.

He wanted to ask how they could fix their relationship together, if she knew exactly when things started to go downhill for them, where he went wrong, and what he could do to make up for his shortcomings. Their breakup was so sudden and the vagueness of why their relationship ended in the first place left him wondering about it on some nights.

The moment she closed the door shut, he knew there were a lot of things left unsaid between them. He wanted to tell her that her pathetic excuse wasn't enough of a reason for her to leave him, especially when he needed her most.

When he's in a festive mood, he wanted to tell her that he's glad he's single because there's no one texting him every ten minutes about his whereabouts. When he's feeling lonely, he wanted to tell her that their relationship was worthy of another try and that he'd forgive her faster than she could say 'sorry'. When he's drunk and bitter, he wanted to tell her that she could go fuck herself and that he'll never take her back after what she did. There's just so much he wanted to say once he sees her.

That's why a year later, it's a wonder why he couldn't seem to speak. There she was in front of him at the school parking area on that same night. Out of the blue. As unexpected as the day she left him.

"I got your schedule from Kitsuneme," he heard her explain.

Out of politeness, Mikan awkwardly said, "H-Hey, Luna." Thinking that the two needed time alone to sort what had to be sorted out, she began to reason, "Uhm, I think I forgot my . . . "

Natsume grabbed her hand as she was about to turn around, quietly urging her to stay.

Luna gave Mikan a polite smile but not before noticing her ex-boyfriend firmly holding her hand. She turned her attention to Natsume and said, "It's been a long time, Nat."

He replied, "I know. It's been a long time."

"How have you been?"

"I'm good."

"Yeah, I'm glad to see you looking healthy and well."

After a brief moment of silence, he asked, "Until when will you be in Tokyo?"

. . . which he regretted asking when she replied, "I'm back for good," and without missing a beat, added, "I missed you."

Natsume smiled in frustration, seeing the dumb timing of the situation. God, how he waited for her to say that but hearing it now after more than a year of silence made him want to throw hurtful words at her. But he didn't although he frankly replied, "If you're trying to ease your guilt, don't bother. I'm at peace now."

"I know. I was just kidding," Luna softly chuckled and said, "But it's true, I'm happy to see you."

"Same here," Natsume looked at Mikan before turning to Luna and said, "Well, we gotta go."

Luna nodded, "Yeah, of course. I can say hi when I see you, right?"

"Of course," he forced a smile and added, "Ignoring each other would be childish. See you around."

He didn't give Luna the chance to say anything more because he grabbed Mikan's wrist and walked towards his car. He got his key from his pockets, pressed a button to unlock the car doors, and deposited his gym bag in the backseat. Mikan was already seated in the passenger seat when he got in. Wordlessly, he inserted the key into the ignition and the engine roared to life. He backed out of the parking space and continued driving home.

* * *

Mikan thought that it must have been at least four minutes since they left school. She estimated the time by humming Dua Lipa's _New Rules_ in her mind. God, how she hates silence—the awkward ones—especially around her best friend. Granted, he's not really a talkative person, but they at least always talk about something when they're on their way home, even if it was Mikan who usually did most of the talking. Or play music. Or eat Burger King takeouts.

Being the good and concerned friend she was, Mikan slowly asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Eyes trained on the road, Natsume replied, "No."

"Okay," Mikan said as she trained her eyes back to the bright city lights. Suddenly, she turned towards Natsume with a hopeful smile on her face. "I've got a great idea! How—"

"Surprising," Natsume teasingly commented to which she responded by rolling her eyes.

"—about we play a game?"

"I'm not in the mood for games."

"C'mon, it's easy. We'll ask a question then randomly choose a song and it'll be like the answer."

"You're weird."

"And that's why we're playing my game," Mikan said as she got her phone from her duffel bag in the backseat.

"You do know that doesn't make sense, right?"

"I don't care," Mikan said as she concentrated on plugging the audio jack to her phone. Once she was done, she wiggled her eyebrows while grinning and asked, "So . . . what do you say?"

"Do whatever you want."

"Yes! Okay, me first," Mikan drew her hands together as if in prayer and asked, "Dear Universe, what's in store for Mikan's . . . love life this year?"

She opened her music app, pressed the shuffle button, and the moment the first line of the song reached their ears, Natsume's laughter shooed the silence inside the car away. Mikan frowned, her eyebrows furrowing in annoyance. _What do you get when you fall in love? A guy with a pin to burst your bubble, that's what you get for all your trouble . . ._

When Natsume's laughter faded, he briefly looked at her and asked, "Are you seeing anyone?"

"You'd be the first one to know if I ever do, you know that."

"Why the question then?"

"Look, it's nothing serious. It's just a game."

"I know. But out of all the questions you have for the 'universe', why ask that?"

"I don't know . . ." she fidgeted in her seat, searching for the right words to convey her growing anxiety for her lack of love life or absence thereof. "I just feel like I'm wasting my youth by not doing . . . typical teenage things."

"Like?"

"Oh, God. You're acting like a shrink and I'm the Psychology major between the two of us."

"I'm just naturally perceptive," he proudly said before returning to the topic at hand. "So, teenage things like?"

"Like . . . falling in love." She supported this idea by saying, "Ms. Yamada said that this should be the time for teens to commit themselves to other people."

" _Would_ , not should. It's not some kind of duty." He briefly looked at her in mockery and teased, "Seriously, are you really a Psychology major?"

She played along and said, "You're making me doubt that."

They spent the next few minutes in silence, taking pleasure in Karen Carpenter's silky smooth voice. A couple of seconds after the song was finished, Natsume said, "It's not that great though."

Mikan slowly turned to him with her mouth agape and eyebrows furrowed, obviously offended, before exclaiming, "How could you say that? She has one of the most beautiful voices in all of history."

"Not her, dummy. Everyone knows Karen Carpenter's great."

With this, she visibly relaxed, "Then what's not that great?"

"Falling in love. It's overrated and highly romanticized."

"You've told me that a _billion_ times. But you know," she turned her attention back to the world outside the car window as she muttered, "It must be nice to have someone texting you goodnight before you sleep."

The car stopped as the traffic light went red. Natsume turned to Mikan and said, " _I_ send you goodnight texts which you don't even bother replying to."

"It's _not_ the same thing! 'Cause we're besties."

"I thought you want goodnight texts," Natsume faked a sigh and shook his head. "How ungrateful."

"Well, _not_ just texts. I want someone I can go on dates with."

Natsume stepped on the accelerator as the light turned green. He continued to tease Mikan, "In this economy? You're being impractical."

"Says you who've dated _a lot_ of girls," she retorted, reminding him of a rumor about the lad being a serial dater all because he had a lot of female close friends.

He snickered and said, "By 'a lot', you mean two?"

Of course she knew that. Mikan giggled at the annoyed expression on Natsume's face and said, "Seriously, those rumors get dumber by the second."

"Yeah, they do."

"Okay, it's your turn."

"I don't have a question in mind though."

"I'll ask on your behalf then."

"Whatever."

Once again, Mikan laced her fingers together and asked, "Dear Universe, what is Natsume's 'the one' like?"

"You're such a hopeless romantic."

As she tapped the shuffle button, she retorted, "And you're annoying. I hope you get a bad ans—"

The moment the mellow strums of the guitar was heard, Mikan groaned and Natsume nodded his head to the soft beat of the song. Mikan complained, "This is really unfair! Why do I get an in-your-face bad answer and you a decent one?"

Natsume grinned, his dimple showing which warmed Mikan's cheeks, as he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, _"_ What can I say? I'm the lucky one."

 _You love, who you love, who you love,_ was John Mayer and Katy Perry's reminder to the duo. Natsume didn't think much of the 'answer' to Mikan's 'question' (on his behalf) to 'the universe' that night. He never had much faith in fate anyway. But that's the thing . . .

He _never_ saw her coming. And he was never the same.

* * *

"Mikan."

"Hm?"

"You should've asked if you're gonna pass Jinno's class this term."

"Thanks for reminding me, you butthead."


End file.
